Antitheft device for meters



May 20, 1924. 1,494.404

c. s. BAILEY ANTITHEFT DEVICE FOR METERS Filed- Aug. 5. 19?.)

Patented May 20, 1924.

UNITED STATES} PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. BAILEY, OF ASHLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR '10 SCHUYLKILL ELEC- TRIO COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA A CORPORATION OF'PENN- SYLVANIAM Application filed August 3, 1921. Serial No. 489,654.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLE S. BAILEY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Ashland, Pennsylvania, have invented Antitheft Devices for Meters, of which the following is a specification.

One object of this invention is to provide a relatively simple, inexpensive device for so enclosing the terminals of a meter as to prevent access to them by unauthorized persons and to render impossible the placing of jumpers upon the conductors adjacent the meter or such other tampering with the terminals or conductors as might result in theft of current or injury to the meter itself. I

It is further desired to provide a device of the character above described which shall be easily applied to or removed from the meter and which after-having been placed thereon, may be retained inplace by a sealing device.

These objects and other advantageous ends I attain as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an electric meter, showing my invention as applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the protective device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the cut or stamped blank from which my protective device may be formed; and

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the partially assembled protective device made from the blank shown in Fig. 3.

In the above drawings, 1 represents a well known form of electric meter having at what is usually its lower side a hollow projecting portion 2 in which are located the terminals 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the instrument. From these, conductors 7, 8, 9 and 10 run from the instrument, usually through one or more closed conduits. A pin or post 11 projects from the front face of the part 2 of the meter and through it adjacent its free end there is usually formed a transverse hole or passage for the reception of a wire 12, whose ends are connected by a lead or other suitable seal 18.

For the purpose of enclosing the terminals 3-6 and those portions of the condoctors 710 immediately adjacent thereto I provide a casing of sheet material which may be of metal, vulcanized fiber, or other suitable substance having a bottom section 14. To the lower edge of thisis attached a back section 15 which may be bent at right angles to it and this has attached to each of its ends'holding flaps each consisting of a part 18 to the outer edge of which is attached a flap 19.

To each of the side edges of the bottom 14 is hinged a rectangular side piece 16 and at the top edge of said front is hinged a front piece 17 also of rectangular form. Preferably at the center of the bottom member 14 is mounted a bushing 20 of any suitable ma terial, which may if desired be directly con nected to the end of a conduit for the reception of the conductors 710. Both of the flaps 19 adjacent their outer ends are provided with a hole 21 and a similar hole 22 is formed in the front member 17.

In assembling or constructing my protective device from the blank shown in Fig. 3, the two side members 16 are bent backwardly into positions at right angles to the plane of the front member 14 and the front member 17 is likewise bent back in a plane at right angles to those of the side members 16, aswell as to that of the bottom member 14. The back member 15 is then also bent back at right angles to the plane of the bottom member 14 and the members 18 are then turned up at right angles so as to extend re spectively adjacent the outside faces of the side members 16. The flaps are then bent at right angles to said members 18 across the front member 17 and are overlapped so that their two holes 21 are in line with each other and with the hole 22 of the top member.

When the parts are in the partially folded positions shown in Fig. 4 the casing may be applied to the projecting portion 2 of a meter and as the folding is completed the post 11 is caused to extend first through the hole 22 of the top member 17 and thereafter through the holes 21 of the flaps 19. The wire 12 is then run through the transverse hole in the post 11 and the seal 13 is applied so as to inseparably hold the ends of the wire together. The seal thus effectually holds my protective device in such osition that it completely encloses the terminals of the meter as well as the conductors immediately adjacent thereto, it being understood that after the device has been brought to the partially folded condition shown in Fig.

4 said conductors are extended through the. bushing and attached. to said terminals.

before. the post has been inserted in the hole 22 and 21 and the seal applied.

It is now impossible for anyone to tamper with the terminals or the conductors adja-,

cent thereto Without first breaking the seal 13 or the Wire 12 and opening or removing my protective device, which operation if performed by unauthorized persons, could,

be easily and quickly detected. The conductors 71O may be completely protected if desired by being run into a closed conduit immediately after passing through the bushing 20. It is to be further understood that the dimensions of my device are such that it snugly fits the projecting portion 2 of the meter so that this is .eifectuallyprotected.

From the above description it Willube noted that the members 1819 extend up- Wardly adjacent the outer faces of the side members 16 and being overlapped across the bottom member 14, serve to hold the side members in place.

I claim:

1. A meter protective device consisting of a casing formed of a body of sheet material folded to provide bottom, front, back and side members; with flaps extending from the side edges of the back memberoverthe outer faces of the side members and across the front member, the latter and the flaps being perforated for the reception of a device for holding'them in folded form.

2. A meter protective device consisting of a casing formed of a body of sheet material folded to provide bottom, front, back and side members; with flaps extending 7 post.

from the side edges of the back member over the outer faces of the side members and across the front member; with means independently of the casing for holding said flaps to the front member.

3. The combination of an electric meter; a folded :sheet metal casing enclosing the terminal-containing portion of said meter, said casing including front, bottom, back and side-members; flaps holding the side members in place and overlapped on the front member; With a post projecting from the meter and extending through the front and through the overlapping members of the casing.

'4. The combination of a meter having a projecting terminal post; a casing consist-ing of a body of sheet metal having' members folded to enclose said terminal portionzof the meter and including retaining.

elements for holding the members in folded relation; with a post on'said terminal portion of the meter extending through the retaining portions of the casing; and a seal for normally preventing disengagement of the retaining parts of the casing from the 

